Hyde Park Landing, Ltd. v. Town of Hyde Park

• Decision Date: 08 July 2015
• Docket Number: 2013-11209
• Citation: 15 N.Y.S.3d 52,130 A.D.3d 730,2015 N.Y. Slip Op. 05945
• Parties: In the Matter of HYDE PARK LANDING, LTD., respondent, v. TOWN OF HYDE PARK, et al., appellants.
• Court: New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division

130 A.D.3d 730
15 N.Y.S.3d 52
2015 N.Y. Slip Op. 05945

In the Matter of HYDE PARK LANDING, LTD., respondent
v.
TOWN OF HYDE PARK, et al., appellants.

2013-11209

Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Second Department, New York.

July 8, 2015.

15 N.Y.S.3d 53

Warren S. Replansky, P.C., Pine Plains, N.Y., for appellants.

James G. Sweeney, P.C., Goshen, N.Y., for respondent.

WILLIAM F. MASTRO, J.P., LEONARD B. AUSTIN, SHERI S. ROMAN, and SANDRA L. SGROI, JJ.

Opinion

130 A.D.3d 730

In a proceeding pursuant to CPLR article 78 in the nature of mandamus to compel the Town of Hyde Park and Walter Doyle, in his capacity as Superintendent of Highways for the Town of Hyde Park, to repair or replace a bridge referred to as the Dock Street Bridge, the Town of Hyde Park and Walter Doyle appeal from a judgment of the Supreme Court, Dutchess County (Rosa, J.), dated September 11, 2013, which converted the proceeding to a declaratory judgment action pursuant to CPLR 103(c), and thereupon declared that the Town of Hyde Park is “responsible for the maintenance, repair, and/or replacement of the Dock Street Bridge,” and that the Town “shall take all measures necessary to fulfill its legal obligation to repair or replace the Dock Street Bridge, as expeditiously

15 N.Y.S.3d 54

as possible in consideration of ... fiscal and other concerns.”

ORDERED that the judgment is modified, on the law, by deleting the decretal paragraph thereof, declaring that the Town of Hyde Park “shall take all measures necessary to fulfill its legal obligation to repair or replace the Dock Street Bridge, as expeditiously as possible in consideration of ... fiscal and other concerns”; as so modified, the judgment is affirmed, without costs or disbursements.

In November 2012, the Town of Hyde Park closed a bridge known as the Dock Street Bridge, which was part of Dock Street, a road maintained by the Town, as a result of a finding of the Federal Highway Administration that the bridge had deteriorated to a point where it was considered unsafe for public travel. In March 2013, counsel for the petitioner, which operated a marina that allegedly is accessible only via the Dock Street Bridge or an alternate route pursuant to a revocable month-to-month lease with nonparty Amtrak, demanded that the Town repair and reopen the bridge. Counsel for the Town responded that it was in the process of reviewing records to determine whether it was the Town's responsibility to maintain

130 A.D.3d 731

and repair the Dock Street Bridge and, if so, whether the cost of repairs was “justified.”

The petitioner commenced this proceeding pursuant to CPLR article 78 in the nature of mandamus to compel the Town and Walter Doyle, in his capacity as Superintendent of Highways for the Town, to take immediate action to repair or replace the Dock Street Bridge. In a judgment dated September 11, 2013, the Supreme Court, inter alia, determined that a writ of mandamus was not...